WATCH: The Moment Big Cat And PFT Commenter Found Out ESPN Canceled Barstool Van Talk Back in 2017
On Monday's episode of Pardon My Take, the former producer of Barstool Van Talk, Michael Davies, joined Mr. Cat and Mr. Commenter to discuss a variety of topics, which included their short run of the show that aired on ESPN. I blogged that segment earlier this week...
And since this topic was on the top of everyone's mind, Pardon My Take has released exclusive footage that had never been released prior to this week. The clip features the phone call from Barstool CEO Erika Ayers and Barstool Founder Dave Portnoy delivering the news to Big Cat and PFT that ESPN had officially canceled the show after just one episode on the air...
PFT: What's up?
Erika: Hey, so we have not good news from ESPN. I'm going to put you on speaker, okay? I'm here with Dave.
PFT: Okay.
Erika: So guys, [John] Skipper just canceled it.
PFT: Okay.
Erika: And he's going to make a statement within the hour, so I would say by 4:00 ET, that he decided to cancel the show. And basically the net net of the message is that they wanted to do the show knowing they control the content. They couldn't get over the association with Barstool, and that you guys have delivered the show that you promised, is basically the net net of the message.
PFT: Okay, was there something that happened?
Dave: Not beyond what already happened.
Erika: I think that basically, they were facing a mutiny of all their female talent.
PFT: I'm just trying to figure out what happened between when we met with them and now.
Erika: I don't know. I talked to Burke [Magnus, ESPN President of Content] Saturday night, and I asked Burke flat out Saturday night, like, do we have a problem? And he's like, "Look, there's a lot of pressure internally, but I think we're fine," was the quote. So, I don't know if he just doesn't want to deal with it, I don't know if it's because he's sitting with Bob Iger [Disney CEO], and Bob Iger is like, "Make it go away," I don't know. My sense is, it is nothing, if anything has changed from last week, it is not Barstool driven. It's internal or Disney politics driven.
PFT: Okay, well, we got to circle up with a few people. We'll call you back in a little bit.
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In my four years of working with Big Cat and PFT, I have never seen them at a loss for words like this. The raw emotion was something else.
But, as they often say, everything happens for a reason. And clearly, things still very much worked out for Big Cat, PFT, and the Pardon My Take podcast.
Here is the lone episode of Barstool Van Talk if you'd like to watch: